Well, today was a mixed day great and a bit embarrasing! Rohan and I had an RDO and went down to surf Bells beach. By the time we arrived at about 8am the swell had built to around 3ft. Whilst we sat there we were joined by one of the pioneers of finless surfing Derek Hynd, have a look at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3du0vEJM5yY . So after a really nice midsize wave I got my first set wave that I rode top to bottom all the way through, Stoked, only to be paddling back and see Derek Hynd spinning effortlessly double stoked. OK so now I could have walked out at that point and it would have been enough.
But!!!!!
I discovered that the Kook in me is still there and even though I go out of my way to be well mannered and follow the rules I still make mistakes. Unlike old friends you can't just drop in and say hi to the guy on the inside particularly those of a cranky disposition, not that you would know until you test it! Even when they are way down the line and you think that they won't possibly make it through that section, think again because you never know who that guy is!!!!
What did I learn from this lesson well a few things but most importantly that it is so important to look and look again. Its not good practice to upset people with poor etiquette, not that my faux pas was deliberate and that on a wave that is a decent size the thought of a 65-100kg surfer+ surfboard that is moving at 30 kmh on an impact trajectory with you is not something you particularly want.
Surf, Love, Dance, Sing, Smile :-)
Derek Hynd's finless surfing is amazing! I'd love to see him surfing - that must've been great fun.
ReplyDeleteWhen you accidentally drop-in just shout "party wave" and pretend it was a deliberate act of social integration! Ha ha...
It was pretty cool, It wasn't him I dropped in on but a local shaper/Surfer. who makes Awesome boards with radical amounts of concave, some friends and I are going to demo one soon which should be fun.
ReplyDeleteYou'll have to make a trip out here dude, you would love it.